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Manual/Graphic options
See also: Tweak There are many video options you can customize to adapt to your system performances and to your personal flavour. They can affect 3D world rendering or your HUD (head-up-display). Many of them are in these menus: * Setup --> System --> Graphics * Setup --> System --> Display * Setup --> Game options And some may be available only via command console. You can restart video system using \vid_restart command (but many options do not need to do this to have effect). Writing a variable name without setting its value will return the present value, and often also its "default" value. Warning: you should check default values after starting a match... if you check them from main menu, before entering a match, previous value stored in your config file may be erroneusly indicated as "default" one. For some infos about compatibility with some GPUs, you may take a look to the VidCompat page. Resolution Go to "Graphics" options menu and first select your monitor aspect ratio (4:3 is classic, but nowadays many monitors are "wide", 16:9 or 16:10), then your resolution and then click "accept" to submit changes (if you exit with "escape" key, there will be no change). Higher resolution gives better image quality, but this has a big impact on performances. Do some attempts to find the best resolution according to your monitor size and your system's "power". For example, you could enable \cg_drawfps 1 then begin from 640x480 or from 800x600 and then increment resolution, checking your frames-per-second at each try (remember that fps change from various factors, like how many players are there and what are you watching, for example, if you watch the ground directly under your feet you will have higher fps). Notice that at higher resolutions, text in command console will appear smaller. You can set your resolution by commands, this will give you more possibilities : *''r_mode <-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc...>'' : resolution of the screen : -1=custom (see r_custom*) ; 0=340x280 ; 1=420x340 ; 2=530x420 ; 3=640x480 ; 4=800x600 ; 5=1024x768 ; etc... type \modelist to see the remaining codes. *''r_customaspect <0 or 1>'' : enables custom aspect of the screen, with r_mode -1 *''r_customheight'' : custom screen height pixels with r_mode -1 (useful for widescreens) *''r_customwidth'' : custom screen width pixels with r_mode -1 (useful for widescreens) Texture quality and detail Changing texture detail can heavily affect framerate and overall video quality. You can change "texture detail" from "graphics" menu, selecting from 4 different levels. Highest quality level is associated with \r_picmip 0, lowest detail level is associated with \r_picmip 3 (higher r_picmip value means lower quality). It needs \vid_restart to be effective and default value is 1. You can use console to set even lower texture quality levels, specifying higher values for r_picmip, even 8 or 16: this increases framerate more; but, when you set a value higher than "3", remember that after any change from "graphics" menu or even after a second \vid_restart, it may automatically return to "3". Other settings related to texture quality: * \r_detailTextures <0 or 1> (it should be set to 1 for best quality). * Asinotropic filter: \r_ext_texture_filter_anisotropic <0 or 1>, plus \r_ext_max_anisotropy <0, 2, 4, 6, 8> (these two cvars are easily controlled from the same "asinotropy" option under "graphics" menu). * \r_texturebits <0, 16, 32>: Obviously, 32 bit textures should be better than 16 bit textures ("Texture quality" under "graphics" menu). 0 is "default". * "Texture filter" can be set to "bilinear" or "trilinear" from "graphics" menu. * Typing \r_ext and pressing TAB key you can find some other texture-related CVARs. Hint: if you have old hardware and experience dramatic framerate reduction in some maps, when looking in particular zones, try to lower the texture detail (higher \r_picmip value) and/or set r_texturebits to 16. If you don't experience performance problems, set texture detail to the maximum (\r_picmip 0) and 32 bit textures (\r_texturebits 32): the game will look much better. Geometric detail You can change "geometric detail" from "graphics" menu, and set it to "low", "medium" or "high". You will see quality difference on curves. Choose "high" for quality, "low" for rendering speed. Field of view You can use \cg_fov command to change your view angle. So you can have a larger lateral view and find your enemies more easily. However it also makes enemies smaller and your aim precision and reaction time might be slightly worse if this value is increased. Theoretically a large value is best in open environments and a low value best in corridors. To get a precise and fast aim you should find a value you like and stick with it. Notice that, as you increment this value, world will seem distorted, distances will seem bigger and your movement will seem faster. Default value is 90, and 120 could be a nice compromise. File:Cg_fov_90.jpg|cg_fov 90 (default) File:Cg_fov_120.jpg|cg_fov 120 File:Cg_fov_170.jpg|cg_fov 170 (notice the distortion) Weapon bar "Weapon bar" is the series of icons that shows your available weapons. Usually it is visible only when you are switching weapons; OpenArena can always draw it, if you enable "always show weapons" in "game options" menu (or enable it with \cg_alwaysweaponbar). Notice that if this option in enabled, you will not see names of items you pickup during game (as far at OpenArena 0.8.5 it is so). Default value is 0. There are various styles for the weapon bar. You can use cg_weaponbarstyle command change style. Some are on the lower edge of the screen, others on the left edge. Some simply show weapon icons, other also a bar to show ammo for each weapon, other the accurate ammo number for each weapon. Default value is 0. Force player model This allows to save system resources if your machine isn't too powerful, and to prevent your enemies from partially "hide" from your view using, for example, a dark model on a space map (where the background colour is dark). You can enable "force player model" option from "game options" menu or using \cg_forcemodel 1: this way, during non-team-based gametypes, you will see all the player models look like yours. During team-based gametypes, instead, all players will look like the Sarge character: this can be useful since some models have small areas that change colour according to team (red or blue) -making difficult to tell apart your friends and your enemies-, while with Sarge the team colours are evident. Dafault value is 0. Framerate You can use \cg_drawfps <0 or 1> to display in the upper right corner how many frames per second (fps) your computer processes. You may check this when you are changing graphic options, trying to balance your graphic quality over speed. Default value is 0. You can also use \com_maxfps to change the maximum number of fps allowed. Default value is 85 and 0 means "no limit". You should set it to a framerate your machine can manage constantly. The game engine has an internal clock which runs at a frequency of 1 kHz -or put differently at 1000 fps- so each of the game clocks ticks has a duration of 1 millisecond (ms) exactly. The game engine can process a frame every clock tick (1000 fps) if processing a frame never takes longer than 1 ms, every second clock tick (500 fps) if processing a frame never takes longer than 2 ms, every third clock tick (333 fps) if processing a frame never takes longer than 3 ms, etc. By setting com_maxfps to a given frame rate you specify once in how many clock ticks the game engine should process a frame and more importantly how much time your computer has at maximum to process a frame. If you set com_maxfps to round(1000 / 1) = 1000 your computer has 1 ms to process a frame every clock tick, if you set it to round(1000 / 2) = 500 it has 2 ms to process a frame every second clock tick, if you set it to round(1000 / 3) = 333 it has 3 ms to process a frame every third clock tick, etc. Commonly used values for com_maxfps include 43, 76, 125 and even 333 because these represent sweet spots where the in-game physics (in frame rate dependent games) are most advantageous to the player: the player can make higher jumps and consequentially can develop higher speed more quickly by strafing. It's important to pick a frame rate your computer (the bottleneck being your graphics card) can process '''constantly', because if processing a frame takes longer than the maximum time for a given frame rate, the game engine will drop the next frame. This makes the game less responsive and could even mean a packet with player information will not be sent to the server now and then. (This also means setting com_maxfps to 0 for anything other than a performance test is a bad idea.) If you are using a laptop running on battery, and you want to maximize your battery duration, you could set a lower frame rate limit (maybe with a bit lower video resolution and quality settings, too) to prevent your PC from using 100% CPU (with Microsoft Windows, use your ''task manager to check the CPU load). Com_maxfps is related with cl_maxpackets: for info about cl_maxpackets, please read Tweak#Tweaking online gaming parameters. Lagometer The "lagometer" is a small window in the lower right corner of your screen that graphically shows your ping (the ping is the time your packets (data) need to reach the server and come back: lower it is, better it is) as a graph, with some seconds of "history". You can enable it with \cg_lagometer 1 (and disable with 0). If you see that your ping is irregular, and from green goes yellow (with higher lines), consider to connect to another server or to close other bandwidth consuming applications you may have running. Red lines in the lagometer indicate "packet loss" (data that is lost and did not reach its destination): if you have many of them, change server or try to set \cl_packetdup 1 (to send each packet two times); if you don't have them, you can try to set \cl_packetdup 0 for best performances. You can read your current ping as a number when showing the score table (usually holding TAB key). Speed You can use \cg_drawspeed 1 to show your current horizontal speed in the upper right corner. Default value is 0. Some mods (like Alternate Fire) may use another command, \cg_speedometer 1. Show or hide 2D (HUD) You can use \cg_draw2d 0 to hide your HUD. You will no more see your statistics: you may want use this when you want to capture screenshots. Default value is 1 (show). Thirdperson You can use \cg_thirdperson <0 or 1> to switch from first-person to third-person view. This game is designed to play in firstperson, and enabling thirdperson is not so comfortable since you cannot see your crosshair (this may be "wanted" by design since Q3A, since the game is meant to be a first person shooter, and maybe playing in third-person may seem like cheating, giving more lateral view: not having the crosshair may be an easy way to discourage the use of third-person). Some mods, like Bid For Power, may be designed to work with thirdperson view. Default value is 0. Brightness You can change "brightness" ("gamma") from "display" menu. This will make game brighter or darker. You can control it also from console using \r_gamma , where number is a value like 1.213450, for example. Default value is 1. Other related cvars: * \r_ignorehwgamma <0 or 1> (default = 0; requires \vid_restart) * \r_mapoverbrightbits (default = 2; requires \vid_restart) * \r_overbrightbits (default = 1; requires \vid_restart) * \r_intensity (default = 1; requires \vid_restart) Screen size If you are experiencing a low frame rate, you could also reduce "screen size" from "display" menu. This will draw the 3D game stuff inside a sort of window. 2D HUD will not be affected. You can change it from console using \cg_viewsize (default value is 100). \sizedown and \sizeup commands are/can be binded to specific keys. Fullscreen If you want to switch from "full screen" mode to "windowed" mode, you can use "Fullscreen" option from "display" menu. You can also use \r_fullscreen <0 or 1> to do this. Simple items "Simple items" option in "game options" menu replaces 3D models for powerups (weapons, ammo boxes, etc.) around the arena with simple 2D icons. This should save system resources. You can also use \cg_simpleItems <0 or 1> to control this option. Default value is 0. Draw team overlay "Draw team overlay" option in "game options" menu allows you to view your team-mates health, armor, current weapon and (if supported by the map) current location, during team play modes (like TDM and CTF). You can also control this function with \cg_drawTeamoverlay . 0=off, 1=upper right corner, 2=lower right corner, 3=lower left corner. Default value is 0. Draw friend If enabled, \cg_drawfriend <0 or 1>, during team modes shows a well-visible symbol above the head of your team-mates, to help you tell apart your allies from your enemies. Default value is 1 (enabled). The option is available from "game options" menu. Draw rewards If \cg_drawRewards <0 or 1> is enabled, when a player earns a "Medal", its symbol appears over his head for a while. If you are that player, you will see the icon on the screen and you will hear the announcer saying it. Default value is 1. The symbol of the medal over the head of the player will hide the "draw friend" symbol (the one that helps you to identify your team-mates during team-based games) for a while, and for this reason you may want to set cg_drawrewards to 0. In this case, the medal will not be shown over the head of the player, and if you are that player, you will not see the icon on the screen, but you will still hear the announcer. The medals earned at the end of a single player deathmatch will be shown as usual. Identify target This option, available from "game options" menu or with \cg_drawcrosshairnames <0 or 1> variable, shows the name of the player you are aiming at, after a while. Default value is 1. Marks on walls This option, available from "game options" menu or with \cg_marks <0 or 1> variable, shows damaged surfaces on walls hit by shots. Marks will disappear after some time. Default value is 1. Ejecting brass This option, available from "game options" menu or with \cg_brasstime variable, controls how long you will see the cartridge cases ejected by some weapons, before they disappear. From the menu, you can disable (the variable is set to 0) or enable them (the variable is set to 2500, the default value); however, you can specify other values using the console. Projectile trail Rockets and grenades leave a smoke trail behind them. It is possible to disable it: this could give some more fps and a bit of better visibility, while maybe making a little more difficult to guess the trajectory of such projectiles and thus where the player that fired them was a while ago. This is controlled by \cg_noprojectiletrail <0 or 1>. 0 (default) shows the smoke and 1 hides it. Flares "Flares" option is available in "Graphics" menu or using \r_flares <0 or 1> command. This will add glow to light sources and "lens flare" effects. Flares are nice at view, but may distract you from playing. You may want to disable this option. Default value is 0. If you type \r_lensreflection and hit TAB key you see there are some other variables to fine-tune this function. File:R_flares_0.jpg|r_flares 0 File:R_flares_1.jpg|r_flares 1 File:Flares and bloom.jpg|Both "r_flares" and "r_bloom" are enabled here Bloom "Bloom" option is available in "Graphics" menu or using \r_bloom <0 or 1> command. This will add "glowing" effects to some light sources (less than "flares" option) and to some objects (like ammo boxes and yellow armour). Disable if you are trying to get higher FPS rate. Default value is 0. If you type \r_bloom and press TAB key, you will see there are some other commands to fine-tune this function. Crosshair You can change your crosshair look from "game options" menu. Weapon You can use \cg_drawGun to select where your weapon will be shown in your view. 0 = weapon not shown; 1 = right; 2 = left; 3 = center. Default value is 1. Before OpenArena 0.8.5, only 0 and 1 values were allowed. Timer \cg_drawTimer <0 or 1> allows to hide or show a timer that indicates the time elapsed since the beginning of the match. Default value is 0. Shadows The \cg_shadows <0 - 3> variable determines how the shadows of the characters are drawn. The standard shadow is a sort of disc under the character, but the engine is capable to draw more complex shadows (known as "detailed shadows", "stencil shadows" or "volumetric shadows": they reproduce the 3D model and are projected to the opposite side from the light source), although with some glitches (sometimes you can see such shadows go through the walls). In OpenArena 0.8.5, the detailed shadows have been disabled almost completely, and they are available in Single Player Deathmatch (g_gametype 2) mode only. Moreover, detailed shadows are not shown under character models that contain more than a certain number of polygons. * cg_shadows 0 - No shadows under yourself, under the other players and the powerups. * cg_shadows 1 - Simple semi-transparent "disc" shadow under yourself and under the other players; no shadow under powerups. It is the default value. * cg_shadows 2 - Semi-transparent grey detailed shadow under the other players and under the powerups (items and weapons); no shadow under yourself, unless you enable cg_thirdperson. It needs r_stencilbits <> 0 (usually set to 8 -default-, 24 or 32). Disabled in OpenArena 0.8.5, except when playing in Single Player Deathmatch mode. * cg_shadows 3 - Non-transparent uniform black detailed shadow under yourself and under the other players; no shadow under powerups. Disabled in OpenArena 0.8.5, except when playing in Single Player Deathmatch mode. Stereoscopic view See also: Stereo Rendering on ''ioquake3 wiki site.'' ioquake3 engine includes stereoscopic view features, to have a more deep 3D experience, even if only for the sake to try it. You need special glasses to see such images in the right way. There is support for "anaglyph rendering" (with cheap different colors lens glasses) and "OpenGL stereo rendering" (with more expensive shutter glasses). Anaglyph stereoscopy is enabled changing the value of \r_anaglyphMode variable. There are different values depending from the colors of your glasses. You don't need \vid_restart to change this. * 0 = disabled (default) * 1 = red-cyan * 2 = red-blue * 3 = red-green * 4 = cyan-red * 5 = blue-red * 6 = green-red Each frame contains two sligthly different images, with altered colors, and the colored lens will prevent each eye from seeing one of the two main colors, so your brain should "see" two separated images and put them together as a single 3D image. You may try to enable also monochrome rendering with \r_greyscale 1 (default value is 0) to have not problems with items of a single color. OpenGL stereo rendering, instead, needs shutter glasses, and works only on hardware that supports quad buffers. Each eye will get only half of the frames (each half with a slightly different image), and your brain should put them together in a 3D image. This mode is enabled with \r_stereoEnabled 1 (default value is 0 and requires \vid_restart to be effective). You can tune the stereo rendering using \r_zProj (default value is 64) (you can find here a good explanation of how the "projection plane" works in stereoscopy) and \r_stereoSeparation (default value is 64) variables. It is advisable to read the more extendend help in the ioquake3 wiki for how to use them. Using 3D glasses for long times may be tiring for your eyes. Greyscale The variable \r_greyscale <0 or 1> allows to view the game in greyscale. Even too much "old style", it is almost useless and may slow down frames-per-second a lot, but it can help when anaglyph stereoscopic view is enabled. It then needs \vid_restart. Default value is 0. If used, having also cg_drawfriend enabled is advisable, too. Draw World and Clear The variable \r_drawworld <0 or 1> (set to 1 by default) determines if the arena itself will be shown or not. Obviousy, it should be set to 1: if you disable it, you will not see the anything but objects like bonuses and characters: no floor, no columns, no ceiling. Disabling it may be useful if you want to take a screenshot of a specific item with a single color background (that will be easy to remove using an image editor program). To get the single color background, and to avoid strange artefacts (caused by the missing refresh of the "hidden" world), proably you will need to set also \r_clear 1 (its default value is 0) before taking the screenshot. To take the screenshot, use /screenshot (for TGA format) o /screenshotjpeg (for JPG format) command. It is advisable to bind the command to a specific key, for example \bind F10 screenshotjpeg: this way, you will capture a screenshot when you will press the F10 key. Other * \cg_leiEnhancement 1 should enable some new particle effects. Default value is 0. * \cg_oldrail <0 or 1>. With 1, external "spiral" trace is omitted from railgun beam. Default value is 0. The spiral is nice at look, but you may want to remove it, if you find it a distraction. The railgun trace colors are controlled from "player settings" menu. * \cg_oldplasma <0 or 1>. With 0, plasma balls left additional particle effects behind them (nice at view, but nothing impressive and they could distract from gameplay). Default value is 1. * \cg_oldrocket <0 or 1>. Default value is 1. * \cg_truelightning . See also * Command console * Manual/Console Commands * FAQ#The game isn't as pretty as the screenshots :( * Tweak * VidCompat - Infos about compatibilty with some GPUs